What do I mean? Well, I will give you a little story. In Grade 7 we had a really great teacher. I liked him very much because he made sense to me. He explained things so clearly and my 12 year old self still remembers. He talked about the fact that we were all independent thinkers and we could all express our "opinions" at any time. I realised for the first time that I was a "person". That teacher taught us one of the most important things we would ever hear. Have you ever heard the scolding remark, "keep your opinion to yourself"? Well, that was common when I grew up in the 1960's and our generation decided we were not going to take it anymore.
Do you have a voice today? Is it all yours and not something you picked up from CNN or CBC. More importantly from Facebook, twitter and other social media. Now what has this to do with art? It has lots to do with art because art tells an opinion or an idea. Art has been used for centuries to communicate "the good, the bad and the ugly".
So, what shall we do? I have began to realize that through my art I need to use my style, my colours, my knowledge and my heart to execute my feelings on my paper or canvas.
How? Do you know about one of Canada's most famous artists her name was "Maude Lewis". She was from Nova Scotia and is so loved because she painted "her own thing".
Maude painted all the things she loved. She painted her whole house and sold paintings to keep herself and her husband.
She was oblivious to the modern movements in painting. She was a primitive and she shined always with her big smile.
I guess I have said this before, hopefully in different ways, that we should follow our hearts. We do not have to agonize over whether our art is "good", or if it will sell, or if the teacher even likes it.
Art is yours, all yours. It is personal, it is from the heart, it is a voice, your voice, your tone of voice and it can yell at you or it can contain great sorrow. Full of emotion, it can be achieved with all the colours in the world.
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